Getting Ready for Bolder Boulder: "It's Christianity in Motion" » Remington Hill says it straight: “I am going to do it because my mom is making me do it!” She smiles, but whether she runs or walks the Bolder Boulder event on Memorial Day, May 25, she will be part of nearly 15 percent of the Adventure Seventh-day Adventist Church members who plan to join a crowd of 50,000 participants for this annual event in Boulder, Colorado.

Coordinated by Kimberly Hill, Remington’s mother, who has a degree in exercise physiology, the Adventure congregation took the Bolder Boulder event challenge seriously. “I am just a ring leader and a volunteer,” Kimberly says. “For us, it’s Christianity in motion. It is also a witness to a healthy lifestyle which our church stands for,” she adds. The Adventure group, which ranges from 8 years old to 65, decided to join in the 10K run as a team. After the event was announced, the church noted that it was for those who “want to stay physically and spiritually fit. The challenge was out there,” Kimberly added. [more]

Partnership With Leaders Featured at Avista Community Breakfasts » In the last 15 months, Avista Adventist Hospital’s senior executive team met with about 375 community leaders to present its vision and recognize their leadership in making the region “where we live so special,” said Dennis Barts, Avista’s CEO.

For the hospital leaders, community breakfasts are intentional to introduce the hospital’s mission of “extending the healing ministry of Christ,” and express a desire to share with the community “who we are,” he commented. “We pride ourselves in not only providing compassionate care, but as we care for each other as providers of quality healthcare, we extend that care to our patients,” he added. Sitting around a breakfast table in the hospital’s boardroom were bankers, representatives of community service providers, businesses, and churches. Commenting for NewsNuggets, Bart explained that 26 morning gatherings included people who are “influencers in the region,” from civic and political leaders, to school principals, attorneys, police and fire department chiefs, Chamber of Commerce and economic development leaders. Such conversations offer ideas that impact the continuing success of Avista’s tradition and culture of world-class care, but also help in recognizing the changing environment of healthcare. [more]

Delta's Pathfinder Club Shares God Through Science Experiments » Delta’s Pathfinder club presented the worship service for the Delta church on April 25, taking part in the worldwide practice of showing their church who they are and what they're learning during Pathfinder Sabbath. Using science experiments, they demonstrated what we can learn about God. How can the airfoil shape of an airplane wing generate lift and what does it teach us about God? Ciaira and Mariah Drew demonstrated the so-called Bernoulli effect and how God helps us with what seems impossible. Recognizing the essence of air may help us to understand the Holy Spirit? Aljehondro Cisneros showed what we can learn from the power of air as when it carries a hot air balloon into the sky or wafts a small seed to a far-off island. But what can balloons reveal to us about God? Daniel Coridan and Pastor Seth Coridan demonstrated how balloons reveal God’s protection and peace in times of trouble, much like barrage balloons protected Allied forces during World War II. The story of sin and God’s plan of salvation is a science to study through all eternity. Daniel Roque, Rachel Williams and Jessica Davis shared this familiar, yet wondrous, story. "I enjoyed participating in the science demonstration on faith. I learned that if you have faith [in God] when you go through trials of life, you will come out better than those who do not have faith." Delta’s Pathfinder club has 18 members from the Delta, Cedaredge and Olathe churches. [Martha George]

INTEL Continues to Train Church Leaders » Desiring to educate leaders and members in metro-Denver, Pastor Frank Wilson opened the Instituto Biblico de Colorado (Colorado Bible Institute) in 2009. Supported by Seminario Adventista Laico, SAL or Adventist Lay Seminary, and Dr. Ricardo Norton of Andrews University, the program prepares and enriches its students for the service and mission of the church. On December 6, 2009, the first graduating class received their diplomas. As pastors join with leaders to support the church in a complex and technological world, the main mission of the institute is to prepare leaders to fill this role. The first graduating class of 42 students specialized in the area of leadership and family orientation. Five classes with more than 220 students have earned certificates from INTEL since its inception. In 2011, the Rocky Mountain Conference leaders adopted this program as a branch of Hispanic Ministries and renamed it INTEL -- Theological Bible Institute of Lay Training. INTEL continues to generate more programs and to help leaders develop their gifts, providing a service that blesses the churches and their communities and helps to fulfill the mission in the Rocky Mountain territories. [Frank Wilson]